Biju loyalists give thumbs down to Routs Forum

BHUBANESWAR: The announcement of former minister and dissident leader Damodar Rout to float ‘Biju Bichar Manch’, a pressure group within the BJD, has evoked lukewarm response from Biju loyalists in other political parties.Many think that the Manch, an apolitical organisation, will not have much of an impact on State politics.This development will definitely create some tension in the BJD, a senior Congress leader said.Rout will continue to embarrass Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik by his Statewide campaign, but how far this will erode the base of the regional outfit is still doubtful, another former cabinet colleague of Rout said.Many Biju loyalists, who are now in other political parties including the Congress and the BJP, will also not come out openly in support of the former minister, sources said.Rout had attended meetings under different platforms with old Biju loyalists like Narasingh Mishra, Union Minister Srikant Jena and BJP leader Bijay Mohapatra.But all these leaders are established in their respective political parties.Sources, however, do not rule out some senior leaders joining Rout in his campaign to propagate the ideals of Biju Patnaik. Former Union minister Braja Kishore Tripathy and former minister Debasis Nayak, recently suspended from BJD, may also join the Manch. But both these leaders have not made any announcement in this regard. It is also doubtful whether Nayak will join in any such a forum to openly challenge Naveen’s leadership.The Manch does not have any takers in the BJD. Though there is large-scale resentment among the BJD leaders against the leadership, they do not want another forum to openly challenge Naveen.There is no need for another platform to propagate Biju’s ideology, a senior leader said and added it is only a publicity stunt of Rout.Another senior BJD leader maintained that Rout needs a political platform to survive and the Biju Bichar Manch is the manifestation of his feelings.He said a political party is required to challenge the domination of the BJD in Orissa politics. But even Orissa Gana Parishad (OGP), floated by former minister Bijay Mohapatra, did not survive for long and had to be merged with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), he said.